Qarth 307 AC.
Dany.
The wait was agonizing and she looked sympathetically at Jorah as he waited with her. While she didn't truly fear for Aegon's wellbeing, he like her was magic and he like her would not be held by this place, she did fear for his emotional state whenever he would return. Her own return from the House of the Undying had been emotionally fraught as she'd seen things she had hoped and prayed for, and even knowing they were not real it had still taken her some time to get over them. Had she not had to fight her way from the warlock's grasp and foiled their plans, then it may have taken her even longer.
She didn't wish for Aegon to have to fight his way out and had been assured he would not. While the power the warlocks called upon was still strong in this place, they themselves were long gone. Malora and Kinvara both telling her so and the former telling her that Aegon needed to do this. As she waited she looked to her goodsisters, both of whom were staring daggers at the Lady Malora. Should it come to pass that Aegon was harmed, Dany was sure it would be Arya and Rhaenys who saw to the lady's end long before she did.
Of the Dragonguard it was Ser Jorah and Ser Jaime who looked the most concerned. Jorah because he knew more of this place than any other than her and Jaime because he and her husband had formed a bond of sorts. They were not quite friends, certainly not in the same way as Aegon and Tormund were, but they were getting there. So much so that it was that more than anything else which had turned her opinion of Jaime Lannister around. The name he shared with his father and his brother turning out to be a bigger obstacle to her own acceptance of him than his actions ever truly were. Tormund, gods what she'd give to have his faith and confidence in Aegon's return, the man as always speaking simply and directly to any who asked him.
" Not even death can hold, Jon Snow, how the fuck is a building going to."
It had brought a smile to her face and though it had been the last one she had worn over the last few hours, she welcomed it all the same. As time stretched on she began to resolve to enter the building herself, to seek her husband out and take him from that place. Her worries starting to grow and prey on her mind and just when she thought she could take no more, she heard his voice and felt his arms around her.
"Dany." Aegon said as he kissed her cheek repeatedly "My love." he whispered in her ear as he held her tightly to his chest.
"You are well, unhurt?" she asked as she moved from him to look him over.
"I am well, my love, truly." he said leaning forward to kiss her lips, the kiss was soft yet it and the look in his eyes promised so much more and she felt keen to get back to the palace.
"Aegon." Rhaenys said running to her brother and beating Arya for once, Aegon embracing first one sister and then the other when Rhaenys stepped back so Arya could take her place.
He reached out and took her hand, Rhaenys and Arya walking close beside them and Dany looked to see Jorah relax somewhat and Jaime let out a relieved breath. When her eye caught Lady Malora she gave the woman a small nod which she felt showed her own feelings clearly. Something that seemed to work if the small smile on the lady's face was anything to go by. Tormund just wore the biggest grin ever and though he waited until they reached the palace before he grabbed Aegon in a bear hug, that was all he waited for.
"I fucking told them, no walls can hold you Jon Snow, not even the biggest fucker that were ever built." Tormund said as he lifter Aegon into the air.
Dany was not the only one who was laughing as Aegon pretended to fight to get free from the larger man's arms. Rhaenys, Arya, and even the Dragonguard smiled and it was only Missandei stepping forward with Rhaella that had Tormund let him down so quickly.
"Fuck off you fool and let me hold someone I wish to." Aegon said chuckling as he moved to take their daughter in his arms "Yes you're right I should have left him on the other side of the Wall, how did you get to be so clever little dragon." Aegon said as he side-eyed Tormund and looked down at Rhaella.
As Aegon walked into the palace, Dany turned to the others and told them they'd speak later. She knew that both his sisters wished to know what it was he'd seen, as did she, but she for now wished to be alone with her husband even more than that. Once they'd agreed and Arya had seen Gendry holding their own babe, Dany hurried after Aegon and caught up with him just as he was about to enter their rooms. She opened the door for him herself and followed in behind him. Aegon then taking a seat on the floor and Ghost moving to lick his hand as he did so. Rhaella quickly putting out her own hand to the wolf and then giggling when she too had her hand licked.
"I'm well, boy." Aegon said as he looked into Ghost's red eyes and the wolf after a moment moved away and lay down nearby, close but not too close.
She took her seat on the floor beside him and waited for him to bring up what he saw. Only to find for the next hour or so it was the last thing he wished to talk about. Instead, he played with Rhaella and had her join in, both of them doing their utmost to make their daughter laugh and Dany smiling broadly each time she did so. Listening to Aegon as he called their daughter a little dragon and spoke to her as if he was telling tales or even having a conversation that she was taking part in, was something to behold. Each little gurgle or sound Rhaella made being answered by Aegon as is she was speaking plainly.
"I know little dragon."
"No, the Wall was no place to name your home."
"Aye, I'm happy it's no longer mine too, else I'd not know you."
"No, nothing in this world would ever make me not wish for you, little dragon, nothing."
She looked at Aegon's face as she spoke and he never frowned, never looked annoyed or angry. Other than when they lay together she'd never seen him look as peaceful and content as he did right now. The closest he came to looking even slightly put out was when Rhaella began to drift to sleep, Dany wondering if he'd wished for her to stay awake longer and believing that to be the case when he picked Rhaella up and laid her down in her crib. Aegon then standing over it and looking down as their daughter fell completely to sleep and only after a few moments did he move away.
"Aegon?" she said as he walked towards her and took a seat beside her on the floor.
"I'm good, Dany, truly. I saw and did what I needed and I feel no upset or concern. I feel better than I have in the longest time." Aegon said as he reached out to take her hand "How I feel with you, with Rhaella, I feel that way now in here." he added as he touched his heart "It's free of anything but good, Dany, my heart is finally at peace."
The chance to ask him more didn't come right away, his kisses and how he carried her to bed saw to that. It was only after they'd lain together and her head was resting on his chest that she felt he'd speak. So lifting her head up, she looked into his eyes and asked him what he'd seen.
"Aegon, what…"
"I saw my life, Dany. My true life and not with the misconceptions I had of it. I saw pieces and moments that I wished I could change and that I'd perhaps have handled differently had I known the truth. My brother, I saw my brother and I knew it then as I've always known it." Aegon said with a smile on his face she'd rarely seen him wear.
"Knew what, Aegon?" she asked.
"That he was true, that he was always true and not like the others. Robb was not Sansa, not Bran, he was not my uncle. He was my brother and I loved him as much as he did me." Aegon said and she touched his face seeing him close his eyes "I saw my mother, Dany, I spoke to her, I told her about you and about our daughter."
Dany gasped, so shocked was he that he had done so and yet she really shouldn't have been. Her words as she spoke them were then ones she didn't even think about before speaking.
"She was happy, for you, for us?" she asked and Aegon nodded before kissing her softly.
"She was, I believe she was." Aegon said and Dany smiled as she brushed her hand against his cheek.
"What else, Aegon, there was more wasn't there?" she asked and saw his eyes darken, and then it was gone so quickly that she began to doubt she'd ever seen it.
"I saw my uncle. Heard the promise he made my mother and the depth of the lie he told me only became even more true. He knew what she wished for me, he knew and because it didn't fit in with his love for his brother by choice, he cared not." Aegon said, yet his words weren't bitter or angry which surprised her.
"Oh, Aegon, my love." she said as she moved to embrace him.
"I got to tell him, I got to tell him what I felt about all he'd done. To tell him what his path had led to and that it was not his friend's line that would sit the throne he helped him usurp from our house, not his grandchildren that would be named princes, princesses, or kings and queens. He failed, Robert failed, Jon Arryn failed. They, Tywin Lannister, Stannis, Renly, all of them failed because they forgot one thing when they looked to King's Landing and to the Iron Throne. They forgot who forged it, who built that city, and that dragons rule over all." Aegon said and Dany felt a stirring in her chest at his words.
"They do." she said determinedly as she looked at him and she swore she could see the fire behind his eyes.
"Essos will find it out soon enough too, my love. They'll look out their windows or from high above their walls and they'll see us when we come and finally they'll know the truth."
"The truth?" she asked eagerly.
"Aye. We are dragons, Dany, and we've not come to play." Aegon said.
Wintertown 307 AC.
Sansa.
It hadn't improved, her life, her reception when she left the room, or how she was treated. If anything over the last few moons the only change had been that she'd put on weight. So much so that when she had finally noticed as she looked in the looking glass, it had then led her to cry for hours. She had taken comfort in food, in the extra portions, and the addition of sweets and fruits. Even lemon cakes occasionally had been amongst the parcels delivered to her and though at first she'd refused to eat them, seeing them as a sign of mockery, eventually her sweet tooth won out.
When she'd finally noticed just how she looked, they and other such things were soon removed from her meals. They still were delivered, but no longer did she act a giddy little girl and delight in them being so. Now when she saw them she would almost throw them away, though instead, she'd found something else to do with them. The children accepting them as all children always would, as she herself would have even were she back in Winterfell where she belonged. It had been her one vice, the addition of a lemon cake with her meal had always been seen as a reward for her. A way for her mother or father to show how special she truly was. Now it was or at least she felt that it was, a way to show how she was anything but.
Each day she'd wake up and realize just how far she'd fallen, the room seeming to get smaller and smaller to her the longer she stayed in it. The clothes she wore always feeling as if they were beneath someone of her stature, which they were, and were worn for comfort rather than how a dress worn by Sansa Stark should be. She'd look at herself in the looking glass and sigh. As she would see how her hair had lost its luster, the small lines beginning to form on her face and feel how age was beginning to creep in. Sansa had just reached her two and twentieth year and each time she looked at herself she felt as if she was far older. As if she'd lived far longer than she had and she feared what more time in this place and life would do to her.
With no position, no prospects, and no stature, all she had was her looks and if they faded then her life was done for. This would be the only life she knew and she would rather die than for that to be the case. Taking her own life was something she had considered more than once since this unjust sentence had been forced upon her. Yet she could not give in, she'd not give in. Picking up her threadbare cloak, she then gathered the previous day's deserts and made her way from the room, eager to speak to the children and hear what they had to say. Varys had used his own little birds and so Sansa had tried to do the same.
"Lady Sansa." a young boy called out as she left the building that her room was in, he and the others waiting for her and well used to her routine by now.
"Garth, Mara." she said as if she was happy to see them, her false smile now used to beguile children rather than the lords, ladies, and knights they should be used on.
"Do you have sweets, my lady?" Mara called out as she always did each day, the little girl fearful that perhaps one day she'd not.
"Of course I do, Mara." she said seeing the young girl's smile and she bid them follow as she made her way to the quiet secluded area behind the open street. It was the one place she could get away from the stares and glares most people sent her way.
The first few times she'd shared her deserts with the children, their families had taken them from away her and forbidden them from speaking to her. Over time the children had found a way and their families had while not being happy about the time they spent with her, had allowed them to. Not that she spent any more time in the wretches company than she needed to. Just enough for them to tell her all she needed to know and for her to ingratiate herself with them.
Over time it had become clear to her why Varys had used little children for his spies. They were unwatched and almost shadows to those older than they. No one paid attention to them as they listened and learned their secrets and she wished now that along with playing the dutiful sister and welcoming host when the Dragonwhore and her bastard brother had come to Winterfell, she'd have used the children too.
"No, you share, there is some for all of you." she said trying not to lose her temper with them as she handed out a piece of candied fruit to each of them and the lemon cake to Mara today.
"Thank you, Lady Sansa, thank you." Mara said happily as she smiled at her and even her unfeeling heart was touched a little by the girl's sincerity.
As they ate, they talked and Sansa listened. Finding nothing of note until Mara herself was finished and she told her about the men who'd arrived in the town a day or so ago. Men who stayed in the inn and who were not from the North. Sansa listening eagerly as Mara named them as wind men, something she didn't understand until one of the other children said men of the Storm. She tried to recall all she knew about the Stormlands and then wondered if these men were sent from Gendry, as was he not in charge of the Stormlands now.
It made no sense to her why he'd send someone to Wintertown though and after she asked Mara to point the men out, she for some reason began to believe they were not sent by the bastard smith after all. A part of her dared to believe they were here for her, but as she watched them make their way to Winterfell she knew they were not. They were simply men who'd come to speak to the Lord of Winterfell and didn't really understand that Edd was simply a figurehead who held no power. There was no trade deal to negotiate or alliance to be made with him, it would be Maege Mormont or Wyman Manderly that they'd need to see for that.
When the knock came to her door that night it caught her by surprise. Her food parcel had arrived earlier and she'd just eaten her meal and was readying for bed. Hurriedly dressing, or at least covering herself up, she made her way to the door to find the men from the Stormlands standing in front of her. Seeing them so clearly showed them to be knights, warriors, and she was fearful of inviting them inside. When they told her they'd been sent from their lord specifically to speak to her, Sansa took a deep breath and tried not to seem too keen before inviting them in.
"Your lord, good ser?" she asked as she took a seat.
"Lord Edric Baratheon, my lady."
It took her three days to organize her departure, Sansa knew she was being watched and that she'd be stopped from leaving should it ever cross her mind. It had on many occasions and yet it wasn't being watched that had stopped her, it was how she'd survive on the road and where she'd go once she had left which kept her a prisoner in the small cramped room. With knights who were well supplied and with a destination to head to, it was a different matter.
So she'd told them that Jon had placed guards and restrictions on her. That after he'd stolen her birthright from her he'd then ensured she could not leave or seek aid to take back what was hers and they'd listened intently and told her they'd come up with a plan. At the hour of the owl on the third night wearing dark clothes and with her hair covered she snuck away from the room and Ser Andrew helped her through the town and to the waiting horses. Within hours they were gone and though they'd be followed, they'd not truly be.
A week later they reached the Stoney Shore and as she boarded the ship and it set sail South Sansa standing on deck and wearing one of the truest smiles she'd worn in more than a year. An alliance with a lord who held an army and sought what she wished for. Finally, she had a chance to gain what should be hers, to be who she should be and she would grasp it with both hands. The game had started once again and this time she was more ready for it and wouldn't make the mistakes she had before. This time she'd win and it would be others who fell and some who lost their lives.
Astapor 307 AC.
Brienne.
Purpose, it was what she'd spent her entire life searching for. Even more so than respect or acceptance, though she'd wished for both, it had been to find a purpose she'd longed for. A reason as to why she'd been born, why she was how she was and different than almost every other woman she'd known. Almost every other woman she thought as she took the day's lesson with Arya Stark. The young woman just like her had not been willing to be what the world thought she should and they'd become firm friends because of it.
"Now, hold it up, Rhaenys." Arya said a while later as Brienne handed the queen her mug of water.
"I was holding it up." Rhaenys said exasperatedly.
"Hold it up, better then." Arya said smirking as the queen swallowed her water hungrily.
"Again Ser." the queen said once she'd done so and Brienne nodded as they moved back to spar once again.
Had someone told her that she'd earn a knighthood, then she'd have laughed at them. Were they then to tell her she'd wear a white cloak, it may have been a blow she aimed at them for teasing her so. If they continued to speak and told her she'd serve a queen and king that she believed in with all her heart. That at times she'd guard a princess that was one day to be a Dragonrider and the Empress of lands both east and west. She'd have named them fools and sought better and truer company.
Yet all of that was true and it had led her to find the true purpose of her life. This was who she was meant to be and who she had always wished to be. Each day she woke was one that she faced eagerly. Every single moment she spent serving the king and queen or guarding the princess was one that she relished. Her talks with those she served with were the ones she'd hoped for more than anything. To be treated as an equal, looked at on her merits and not her sex, and accepted for who she truly was, that had been something she'd not even dared to dream for.
"Ready, Ser." the queen said as she held up her thin blade and moved towards her.
"I am, your grace." she said as she smiled at her queen.
It had been the king who'd come and asked her and his sister to train the queen and the princess. Brienne was only too willing to do so while Arya had said that neither would ever be true swordswomen. King Aegon though hadn't cared and had told his sister that both would perhaps surprise her. What he wished for was not that they could wield a blade as well as Arya or she herself could, but that they could wield it well enough to protect themselves should it need to be done.
Brienne knew he gave both of them lessons too, as did Ser Jorah. What he truly wanted though was for them to find a style that suited them best and in that her queen had left her shocked, stunned, and incredibly proud. Given her stature, Brienne had expected the queen to need to learn the water dancing that Arya was so proficient in. That it would be speed and movement that she'd excel in and yet it was more her style that the queen seemed adept in. So it was mainly Brienne that trained her while Arya focussed more on the princess.
"Well done, your grace." she said as the queen landed a hit on her that she hadn't been able to dodge, Brienne not needing to look to the side to see the king looking on proudly as he held the princess in his arms.
She did hear the laugh from the princess as the king said something to her and she saw the smile on her queen's face as she knew that she was being spoken about glowingly. Brienne had been lucky enough to have heard some of the things that King Aegon would say as he held his daughter in his arms and watched the queen go through stances or when it was Ser Jorah teaching her a move or two.
" Aye, little dragon, your mother is fierce."
" Of course she scares me, only a fool wouldn't fear a dragon such as your mother."
" Aye, you too will be just as fierce as her when you grow.
" You'll be training from much earlier my love, much earlier."
It hadn't just been his wife that the king spoke so glowingly about. His sister too he showed great pride in and for Brienne it only made her respect the king even more. Not that she had not respected him for the longest time. Ever since she'd met him in Castle Black and seen what he'd done from then on he'd earned her respect. At Winterfell during and after the Long Night even more so and since he'd stepped out of that strange building in Qarth, Brienne had noticed a change come over him.
Aegon was a serious man, at times a man who had brooded too much, and yet from when he'd arrived in Winterfell until now, it had become lesser over time. Now it was as rare to find him brooding as it had once been to find a smile on his face. Whatever he'd seen and done in that place had seemed to lift a weight from him and it was something she was not alone in appreciating. Even the red-headed wilding saying that the king was finally learning to love life and that it was long overdue.
"Yield, Ser." she heard and looked to see the sword at her neck, her distracted thoughts having cost her the match, and as she yielded she began to smile when the queen curtsied to the sound of the king clapping.
Brienne looking up to see him move the princess's hands together and for her then to try and do so herself. With the day done she readied for the night ahead. They would eat and rest, and she and all the Dragonguard would need to sleep tonight as they'd be on duty on the morrow. The city they'd come here to take would fall, the only question was how quickly and how dangerous the fight to take it would truly be. She hoped it would not be and that neither her queen and princess would need to yield a blade for a long time to come.
The queen and princess sparred twice a day, the king she knew did so just as much if not more. Ever since they'd readied to leave Qarth it had been their routine. While sailing it had been stances, forms, getting used to carrying and wielding a blade without actually sparring. Since they landed and marched it had been each day and by the time they reached Volantis her work would be done. From then on it would be more to stay in shape and keep their rhythm that the sparring would be used for, until then it was still to train them both.
After eating her meal and bidding the King, Queen, and princess a good night, she made her way to her tent and was asleep moments after her head hit the pillow. Waking early the next morning she affixed her armor and made her way to the King and Queen's tent finding Ser Jaime already there and Ser Jorah to be inside. They broke their fast and marched, reaching the city's gates by mid-afternoon and as Lord Jon had the army from up, she took her place with Ser Jaime at the princess and Missandei's side, the white wolf acting their third.
"Do you believe we'll see a true battle today, Ser Jaime?" she asked and the knight shook his head.
"His grace does not expect one, nor does the Lady Malora. "Ser Jaime said and she prayed he was right.
Later that night they settled into the Pyramid that had been provided to them by the remnants of the Good Masters. All of whom had knelt not when they saw the army that was camped outside their gates, but at the sight of the four dragons, three with riders on their back. She stood guard outside the King and Queen's chambers and she blushed at the sounds that came from behind the door. Brienne smiling though at the thoughts of another prince or princess and hoping beyond hope that in time she'd serve Empress Rhaella just as she did her mother and father. It was the true purpose of her life after all.
Yunkai 307 AC.
Rhaenys.
Having Daario Naharis appointed to be amongst those who guarded her was not something she'd sought and not something she'd wished for, Rhaenys was sure he'd annoy her greatly . She'd expected him to be much too forward, as Arya and Missandei both had warned her about how he was prone to act. Yet she had found the man to be respectful if a little irreverent. Something that she'd come to appreciate just as much as she knew her brother did. Protocol was not a thing she'd truly been brought up with and while she understood the need for it with those who were not in their immediate circle, she like Aegon far proffered not to have to deal with it with those who were.
Over time she'd found the reason for Daario's apparent change in manners. His affair with Yara Greyjoy surprising Dany and even Aegon when she'd told them about it. Though they'd both welcomed the happiness it seemed the two had brought to each other. It had made her slightly jealous though, not that she wished for Daario to be more than what he was, but that she herself did not have someone in her life who made her happy in that way. Her upset was picked up on first by Aegon and then by the Lady Malora and the conversations she'd had with both of them still brought a smile to her face, though a different smile for each.
" I find I much prefer my sister not having a man in her life." Aegon said as they sat by the dragons and she turned to speak angrily to him only to see the small smile on his face and to then hear the rest of his words "I've no desire to gut the man who dared think himself good enough for her." Aegon added and she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.
" A man like my brother, surely there is another just as true as you out there?" she asked almost desperately.
" A man who makes you smile and whose heart stills when he looks upon you, aye, should you find such a man I'll deem him worthy." Aegon said "Perhaps." he added and she punched his shoulder lightly.
With Lady Malora it was the same but more cryptic and yet she offered up a better promise than perhaps.
" You'll find what your heart seeks in Volantis, my princess. A man much like your brother and true of intent, a man you already know."
Her words had forced her to think on all those she knew and to not be able to find one who she could even consider that way. That almost making her dismiss them only for the faith her brother put in the lady making her reconsider. Perhaps she was right and it made her eager to travel on to Volantis, to have the other cities they needed to take first all fall as easily as Astapor had. When the Good Masters had knelt so quickly she'd been disappointed almost. A large part of her wishing to use Balerion in battle then and there so he and she would be ready for the harder battles to come. Now she hoped that Yunkai and Mantarys would kneel just as easily.
"The Wise Masters. Daario what can you tell me of them?" she asked as they made their way to the dragons.
"Wise in name and not nature, Princess. If what the Good Masters said is true then there are fewer of them today than there once was." Daario said and she nodded.
"Do you believe they'll kneel?" she asked and heard him laugh.
"Fools though they may be, they like those in Astapor know when to kneel and when to fight. Today will not be a day for fighting, princess." Daario said and she hoped he was right.
When they reached the dragons she looked to see Aegon and Dany already there, both of them softly stroking their dragon's snouts while Aegon softly rubbed the red dragon's too. She moved to Balerion and rubbed his own snout just as softly, hearing his trill and feeling him move his head closer to her as her hand moved over the bright blue scales. The little specks of red he had were on the underneath of his wings and between his horns. Apart from them, Balerion was as blue as the sky and unable to be seen once he flew against it.
"Īlon sōvegon, balerion, īlon sōvegon se kostilus tubī ao maghagon zirȳ perzys(We fly, Balerion, we fly and perhaps today you bring them fire). she said.
"Are you ready, big sister?" Aegon said as he moved behind her, his arms going around her when she turned to him.
"I am. Daario says you don't expect a fight today?" she asked curiously once he let her go.
"Lady Malora believes they'll kneel." Aegon said and she looked at him to see that he believed it too.
"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting, should we." she said with a laugh as he pushed against her shoulder and she did it back to him.
As she climbed up onto Balerion's back she saw Argon kiss his wife and then he and Dany both mounted their dragons. With one look to her, all four dragons took to the air and flew over their army that had surrounded the city. Qhono leading the Dothraki and Grey Worm, Ser Jorah and Lord Jon leading the rest. Some distance away almost two hundred unsullied and a thousand Dothraki guarded a tent along with Ser Jaime, Ser Brienne, and Ghost while inside Arya, Missandei, Gendry, Robb, and Rhaella all waited for the signal to come to the city.
That should have been enough of a sign that her brother truly felt no worry about a fight today. Had he believed there to be one coming then her niece would be far from here and aboard a ship As they landed near but out of arrow range of the city, she looked to the gates and saw the riders approaching them and bearing the flag of parley. It was a surprise to see a woman lead the way and she looked to Aegon to see if he was aware of this, her brother showing no sign that he was not. They didn't climb down off the dragons, didn't move even when the riders dismounted.
"My name is Malazza, some have named me the Girl General." The lady who was dressed in armor and seemed to be the one in charge began "On behalf of the Wise Masters of Yunkai, we welcome Queen Daenerys and King Aegon to our great city and we pledge ourselves and Yunkai to you both." Malazza said as she and those with her knelt.
Rhaenys smiled to see it, no doubt just as she had in Astapor, here she'd hear of Belicho once more and why they were so willing to kneel without a fight. Braavos, Meereen, Qarth Astapor, and Yunkai, in less than a year her brother, niece and she herself had seen the lands controlled by her house expanded upon. The Great Cities of Essos had fallen far more easily than she had ever expected they would, and her father's prophecy was proving ever more true.
Norvos 307 AC.
Arianne.
Spending time with her mother had been as it always was, a pleasure, which was far more than she could say about the rulers of this city. The Bearded Priests wanted the security her army brought to the city, but not their presence, and ever since they'd arrived the whispers had begun. How much they ate? How many of them there were? How long they'd be staying for? The questions she could deal with and let slide. Comments about her men and disparaging remarks she could and would not.
The men of Dorne had come at her command and at her mother's behest. They'd come to offer aid against a man who'd already sought to take two of the kingdoms in Westeros and more than one city in Essos. A man who was more than willing to pull on a dragon's tail and who the people of Norvos rightly feared. Yet they had no true army to protect them, no real force and unlike with the Dothraki when they would come to attack the city, gold wouldn't buy him off.
For moons the discontent over their presence had risen, the words spoken up against them had grown louder and even she and her mother had argued. Mellario was torn between being a good Norvosi and her mother who'd sought her aid. In the streets, scuffles had broken out between her men and the men and women of Norvos, and it was only that she had bid them to, that had stayed her men's hands. She was beginning to fear that it was soon to come to a head and either the Norvosi or some of her men would not be able to control themselves unless Belicho's intent was made clear. As she stood looking out on the night's sky, the slip she wore feeling uncomfortable in the warm air, she sighed and was ready to return to her bed when she felt Daemon's arms wrap around her.
"My princess cannot sleep?" Daemon asked softly as she leaned back into his comforting arms.
"I both wish the fight had already come and welcome that it has not. "she said with a bitter laugh.
"I must admit I prefer it has not. Though I believe our men a match for any, I would much rather have the King, Queen, and their dragons with us." Arianne said and Arianne nodded.
"As would I." she said as Daemon led her back to bed.
She woke for true a few hours later and broke her fast with her mother and no sooner had she sat down and begun to eat than the talk turned to the same place her thoughts had been earlier. Though it seemed that it was much worse than she feared and she looked at her mother incredulously as she spoke.
"The council met with the Bearded Priests last night, I believe a declaration decrying your presence is soon to be made. "her mother said and Arianne looked at her, her head uncovered this morning as the wig she sometimes wore was elsewhere.
"Were they to do such a thing it would leave me with no choice mother." she said as she watched her mother touch her head, her fingers stroking its baldness in what she had come to know as her mother's nervous tic.
"You cannot leave, Ari." her mother said worriedly.
"If the Bearded Priests make such a decree, what choice would I have? My men are here as protectors, as invited guests and you know full well what such a decree would lead to. Already your people bristle at our presence, I'll not allow that to become more than simple harsh looks or loud whispers." she said her appetite leaving her.
"He will come, Ari, he will come and Norvos will fall." her mother said pleadingly.
"Then convince those who truly rule here what their words will bring about." she said and her mother nodded.
It took her until it was time for luncheon before her anger had subsided enough to allow her to break her fast. Her mother had left and headed to the temple to speak to the Magisters who in turn would speak to the Bearded Priests and the feeling at the pit of Arianne's stomach that she'd be unsuccessful was growing all the while. After she'd eaten she met with her generals and then with Ned Dayne., Finding herself surprised that it was the Lord of Starfall who'd requested a meeting with her before she had a chance to do so first.
Feeling annoyed and eager to be distracted from her thoughts, she and Daemon along with Areo and her guards made their way through the city to where Ned was staying. The words she heard along the way angering her even more and by the time she got to his manse, she was furious. Were it not for Daemon noticing and taking her hand, she may have not been able to calm herself before entering the manse itself. As it was, his endeavors had only worked somewhat and it was the young lord's easy-going manner that managed to do the rest.
"Princess, Ser." Ned said with a smile, which put them both at ease.
"Ned, what have I told you?" she asked with a questioning look on her face, her eyebrow raised and though she was not smiling, it was there beneath the surface.
"Forgive me, Arianne." Ned said and as they were led to a table, her smile now no longer hidden.
"You wished to speak to me, Ned?" she asked.
"I did, I'd have come to you, Arianne, there was no need for you…" Ned said and she interrupted him with a wave of her hand.
"I wished for the walk, Ned, it did me good to get out and about, and hear how welcome my presence and those of our army truly is." she said bitingly.
"It's about that I wished to speak, Arianne. This arrived this morning brought to me by a bird at my window, not a raven but an eagle bearing that note." Ned said handing her a note, his expression different now as there seemed to be an eagerness about him for her to read it.
Taking it from his hand, she opened it up and read the words which confused her. A request and not order to come to Volantis that was written in a hand she knew not and was signed by the Lady Malora rather than the king or queen.
"Arianne?" Ned asked worried by her expression.
"How do we know this is from the Lady Malora?" she asked and Ned shook his head.
"I've considered that, I thought at first it may be one of the Norvosi. Someone trying to get us to leave by sending us on a false errand. Or even this Belicho fellow, seeking for us to abandon Norvos and thereby make it easier for him to capture it."
"Now you think not?" Daemon asked.
"Their grace's plans were Meereen, the Bay of Dragons, and then Volantis, Daemon. I believe they'd achieved or are close to achieve the first of those things and seek our aid in the last." Ned said and his words made sense, something that Daemon agreed with given the look on his face.
"We're to aid Norvos, Ned. It's why we sailed here instead of joining their graces. Were we to just abandon the city…" she began only for Daemon to interrupt.
"We may not have a choice, Ari." Daemon said looking at her.
"My men and I await your word, princess. We stand by your side and your decision." Ned said making her smile return, even though he'd resorted back to formality.
In a way, he'd had to as he was speaking to her then as the Princess of Dorne, and so she welcomed it and after asking if he or his men needed anything and what he felt was the mood of her army. She then bid him farewell for now and made her way back to her mother's manse. Only to find it was elsewhere that she was bid to go.
No amount of arguing from her mother had made the slightest difference and if anything it had angered and turned feelings against them even more. The proud Magisters not liking being told what to unless it was by those they had to listen to and the Bearded Priests themselves were obstinate and insulting. In three days she was ready to march away from this city and it was only the fact that Ned Dayne had received the message he had that it was not back to Dorne she was headed. Instead, it was to be Volantis, and as she saw Norvos fade in the distance and knew she was leaving it to its faith, she cared not. Partly because they had not truly wished her there. Mainly because the woman she had truly come to save was now marching with them.
"What are the dragons like, Ari?" her mother asked excitedly.
"Fierce, Mother, the dragons are fierce." Arianne replied and it was not the ones that flew in the air that she was speaking of.
Qohor 307 AC.
Sam.
He was laying in a bed filled with his own mess, a bed whose sheets were still wet from the sweat and piss he found himself covered in each morning. In the corner, the bucket where he relieved himself had long since overflowed and the stench was something he barely even noticed anymore. It had only been a few days and yet to Sam it had felt a lifetime. Hearing the door open he shrunk in on himself to become as small as he could and not offer them a target to strike and was relieved to find it was food and not a beating he was to receive. There had been far more of the latter than the former since he'd been thrown into this cell.
As he hungrily ate the almost rotten fruit and piece of stale bread and drank down water that was far less clean than it should be, he wondered how he'd not seen this coming. Was he truly a fool? Had he been so wrapped up in a sense of his own importance that he'd not considered how little he actually mattered? Was he so afraid of Jon Snow that he had walked into the hands of someone even more dangerous?
No, on the last of those he had not been wrong, Sam knew full well that there was no one more dangerous than Jon Snow. He took what comfort that he could from that. That and the hope that just as always it would be Jon who came to his rescue. As he had from the bullies at Castle Black, from Thorne, and from the life he'd have been forced to live there were he not his friend. Or had he not at least pretended to be. Jon would come, he'd come and take him from this place and though it would more than likely lead to his death regardless, it would at least be a quick one. Something he feared with Belicho he was not going to be lucky enough to receive.
After he'd eaten, he lay back down in his own filth. The bed though wet and full of his own smell was far more comfortable than the floor and Sam had always liked his comforts. It had been them which had gotten him into this mess after all. The chance of more having robbed him of his senses and he cursed his gluttony nature. Had he just been content with what he had, with Gilly and the life they could lead, had he not sought more than he earned then he'd be far from this place. As it was he knew it likely that he'd never leave this city and never see Gilly again.
"I'm sorry, by the seven I'm sorry. Father, please help me." he cried out as he pulled the wet blanket over himself and tried to sleep.
Each night had been a variation on the theme, Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, and Stranger, he'd prayed to them all. To them, to the Old Gods, to R'hllor, and even the Many-Faced and Drowned Gods, he'd prayed to any who'd listen and begged them to take him from this place. He'd begged forgiveness and willed them to send Jon to him, to send him and the Dragonqueen and their dragons and he'd sworn if they did then he'd change. That were they to just rescue him from his fate, he could change. There was no answer because unlike Jon Snow and very much like Aegon Targaryen, the gods could see deep inside of him and they knew his true nature.
Jon Snow may come and rescued him because Jon Snow knew nothing. Sam had no faith whatsoever that Aegon Targaryen would even try and each day he stayed here, it was a day closer to his end. That day finally arriving far sooner than he had expected and again he wondered how he'd not seen it coming. The meals he'd been given were more like the ones he'd once eaten regularly. Clothing had been brought to him so he could be allowed to change and he'd even been allowed to wash. Fool that he was he actually thought it meant that Jon was near, that they would seek to trade him so they didn't have to face a dragon's wrath. When the truth was far more simple, it was his time to die.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked nervously as the guards pushed him through the corridors and out into the large courtyard.
"Move or we make you move." a particularly ugly guard said and Sam did as he was bid, knowing full well that this was one of the worst of those who'd been left to watch over him, a cruel man who delighted in hearing him cry out in pain.
He was moved through streets where men and women all walked in the same direction as he did and he wondered what was going on. When he saw the raised platform and the two poles a few feet apart he tried to stop moving. The smack he got to the back of his head and the threat of more soon making him move again. His cowardice knew no bounds and even knowing he was facing his end, he couldn't summon up the courage to fight. Not even when they tied his arms to the poles could he do anything to stop them, so paralyzed was he by fear.
"We come here today to bear witness to a new beginning, a new light, a new path for all of us." A bearded man said as Belicho walked up some steps and joined him on the platform "Behold the chosen, the High Priest of the Church of Starry Wisdom and heir to the Bloodstone Throne. The Bloodstone Emperor Reborn." the man said to loud cheers and Sam tried to twist his head to see who he was speaking of only to find it was Belicho and to feel a fool yet again.
"The Blood Moon calls for a sacrifice and one has been chosen. Watch and watch closely and see what true power looks like. "Belicho said as he stood forward and Sam noticed the knife in his hand and felt his bladder loosen.
Belicho began to cut away at the clothing that Sam wore, taking his time, and the blade he bore in his hand never once touched his skin, until it did. Sam screaming out loudly as the man he had thought would help him against Aegon Targaryen and the Dragonqueen proved to be no friend of his. Firstly taking his nipple before taking what felt like a pound of flesh as he held up what had been one of his flabby teats. He felt the water as it was thrown over him and he awoke to find that he'd not be allowed the comfort of passing out and then he felt the blade once more as his other nipple and teat was removed.
"AHHHHH….Please, Please.." he cried out and all he received was loud cheers as Belicho continued about his work.
As he tried to struggle against the ropes that held him, Belicho began to carve things into his stomach, symbols, and images that he couldn't see. He felt them though, or to be more precise he felt each line that he drew and each pass of the knife as it cut into his skin. Then he screamed out once more when he felt Belicho take his stones in one hand and move the knife towards them.
"Noooo, Noooo, I'lll… Nooooooooo…"
He prayed to pass out again, but there was no one listening and so Sam looked on in horror as Belicho cut away and then held his stones in his hand. The two balls looking far smaller than he had ever imagined them to be and when he felt the man's hand on his stem, he shook his head vigorously. Not that it stopped him or dissuaded him from what he wished to do and so far quicker than he imagined such a task could be accomplished in, he was unmanned for true.
To see them there, his stones and stem laying on what looked like a plate was terrifying, to think the thoughts he had in his head as Belicho raised the plate and looked at him wickedly was even worse.
"Don't worry Sam, I'll not feed them to you." Belicho said with a laugh as he moved to a bowl that seemed to be alight and fed Sam's manhood to the fire.
The colors of the flames changed as first his stones and then his stem burned away to nothing. Bright orange, vivid yellow, vibrant green, and finally a red of a like that he'd never seen before. Sam looked on as it seemed to float in the air above the bowl and then drifted into the sky. The red almost looking to be everywhere as it floated above Belicho, him, and the crowd and he thought he'd lost his mind, lost all senses as it moved towards and then covered the moon.
"Now to work." Belicho said as he moved towards him and Sam felt him cutting away at his body, the pain going so far beyond anything he'd ever managed and his screams were loud until they were not.
It was very hard to scream without a tongue and that had been taken from him a few moments or a few hours ago, he knew not which. Only that he'd watched as it was thrown into the crowd and had looked on in horror as a man and woman had shared it. Each of them eating what looked to him to be an equal amount. On and on his suffering went, Belicho somehow knowing what to cut to make him hurt even more and Sam finding more about his body in his last moments than he ever had in all the time that came before them.
Ears hurt more than a nose, fingers more than toes, the muscle at the back of his calf was a pink and shriveled thing and the one at the back of his thigh was a sickly looking pale white. He had more flesh than he had ever truly imagined and even after taking handful after handful, there was still so much more to be removed. Blood loss didn't lead to death, even though it should and the moon in the sky was a red one and had risen far too soon.
When he lost his eyes he welcomed it, though not the sound of them as they popped when placed in a fire and when he felt the knife cut his throat and the last of his blood flowed from the wound, he welcomed it. Sam's thoughts were that a dragon's flames would have been preferable to this.